The Witch's Epigraph Chapter 1: The Room of Six Locks

Question

The difficulty of this chapter is Slightly Taxing. Would you care to guess?

The story so far...

The proprietor of a museum of riddles and mysteries intends to bequeath his entire collection to whoever can best his final challenge. Tonight, the members of this exclusive club have gathered to compete for this prize.

Upon arrival, these guests received sheets of paper giving a set of rules for fair riddling, The Sphinx's Decalogue. On these pages were clues to open a safe and prove their worthiness to enter the Club. The first to solve this safe was...

* Ocean Zweidler, an author of mysteries, who guessed similarly to some of the cleverer posters in the thread. The line below this one is a lie.

* L. V. Ford-Seaton, a child of wealth. Nobody in the thread could have anticipated his answers. The line above this one is a lie.

Regardless of who solved it first, both were admitted entry, as both sets of answers were reasonably derived from the information available to them as individuals.

Now, a new page begins. What will our guests find written in the foyer?

Without hope, the truth cannot be found.

(Note: It’s not necessary to read the first thread to catch up, but these three posts contain relevant information and puzzles:

Young Matthew Ford - no relation to the car-maker - was a Wall Street alchemist. He could turn lead into gold, and not only that, he could turn tin into silver, iron into copper, and, judging by the fortune he made in semiconductor commodities trading, silicon into gallium. But he was reckless and wild, winning and losing fortunes on a throw of the dice, until the evening he met the Sapphire Witch.

At the time, she bore a different name. No matter; her magic remained unchanged. Although she was a geneticist in her human life, she knew powerful conjurations and transfigurations, which she taught to Ford in their years of marriage.

Nowadays, it is generally considered impolite to remind Mr. Ford that his wife has passed away. As far as he is concerned, she is alive and well, and wanders the secret passages of his museum every night.

---

The guests found this page - the very page you are reading - in the foyer. Though normally spacious, boasting tall windows and a grand 39-step staircase, the foyer was cluttered tonight with trunks, tables, and shelves. Amid this paraphernalia, many of the Club’s staff had gathered to present themselves and play their assigned roles.

"Ladies, gentlemen, I don’t mean to alarm you, but there was supposed to have been a signet ring in that first safe," said Lana Rodriguez, the Club librarian, stepping away from a set of bookshelves that held the proprietor’s favorite novels. "It had a big sapphire in it… not easy to miss. I'm afraid that either whoever opened it just now palmed the ring, or somebody broke in early. Bill, anything on the safe's records?"

"Sorry ‘bout the bad news, but I just checked. Looks like someone got in five minutes before we opened." said Bill Jackson, the club's resident tech wizard. He slouched back against a table that carried a model train set.

"My God," said Samuel, the doorman, raising his eyes from a box of vintage 45 records. "I stepped away to shut off the fire alarm! Anyone could've arrived early and opened it!"

Margaret Ye, the proprietor’s attorney, pushed aside the trunk of toys she was assigned to watch over. “Our security guards just locked down the building. Nobody will enter, nobody will leave. Not before we find our culprit.”

The guests protested, but all of the staff had solid alibis. And if they eliminated the eight staff members as suspects... well, there wasn't nearly enough information to figure out who had done it just yet, but perhaps, as the evening wore on, the culprit would slip up. "Maybe it was the Witch!" joked L. V., only to receive angry glares from several of the staff, and, in particular, from a young boy at Mrs. Ye's side.

"You'll regret saying that," said the boy. "The Witch is real. She's gonna take us all to El Dorado."

"Cut it out, Mark." hissed Margaret. "Do I have to send you home?" Then, noticing that the others were staring, she said, "What? Mr. Jackson! Give them the damn riddle!"

Mr. Jackson shook his head and pointed to a tall mahogany cabinet leaning against the wall and bearing an ostentatious lockplate in the shape of a winged man. “Safe’s in here,” said Jackson. “But the key’s somewhere else in this room. Here’s your clue.”

He showed the guests what looked like a crude handicraft made in summer camp, a string of little ornaments. “Some of these are rusted, but you should ignore any oxidation. In fact, you’d better ignore any minor ingredients in these things!” Jackson added, making sure each guest saw it fully. "Start from the end with the sinker. Be careful; it's got sentimental value."

The ornaments were made from glass beads, old fishing sinkers, loops of lead-free solder, and steel rings, and were arranged as follows:

Sinker, Glass, Glass, Solder, Steel, Sinker, Glass, Sinker, Glass

Racing to make sense of this clue, the guests rummaged through the room for the hidden key. Some dug through the bookshelves for reference materials, while others used their smartphones to access the Internet..

At last, a clever guest found the key hidden inside a small object, which I shall leave for you to guess. But when they opened the cabinet, the safe confronted them with yet another challenge - a combination lock that bore a compass rose around its dial, rather than numbers, and a sheet of paper bearing the following maze of arrows.

And this is far from the last of this room's riddles.

Give up! If you give up, surely someone else will guess it for you!

Stop thinking! Go find a game where there is one "answer" to every problem!

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(Some readers may find one of the following scenes disturbing. Discretion is advised.)

Chapter 1 Finale: The Locked Study

With the last cryptic clue resolved using a little linguistic flexibility, Batsheva Ellis and Nat Foreman stepped in just as the others worked out an answer to the train riddle. The insight had started with Ocean, whose eyes had widened when she recognized the coat-of-arms. One by one, the guests confirmed their suspicions with the relevant pages, clicking each station into place.

The model train made a metallic whistle as it moved around the track, passing by the opened boxes and through each station. When it finally reached the first station again, there was a click, and a panel in the roof of the Uffizi Gallery slid open slightly, revealing a keyhole. Unlocking it with the tiny key, L.V. gently lifted the gallery to reveal a pedestal inscribed with the word "AMBRA" and bearing a yellow stone, a note, and a circular pad with a button.

L. V. admired the stone, then pocketed it "for safekeeping." He then read the note aloud:

Press the button, and I shall uncover this room's final lock: The Witch's Epigraph.

He paused, perhaps for dramatic effect, as the guests crowded in to see what would happen.. Even the Club staff gathered around - now all eight of them were present, including the two security guards, Maria Brand and Sal Lucas. "Well, go on, push! Push the button!" said Otto, half-ready to jump in and push it himself. With a flourish, L. V. did so. It clicked, and there was the sound of tile sliding on tile.

"Where did that sound come from?" asked Kenichi. The tall ceiling seemed to play tricks on their hearing, and there was no way to be certain, save for searching the entire room. "We'll split up to look," said Ocean, and began combing the walls and floors of the east side of the foyer. With a rush of excitement, each of the other guests claimed an area.

For several minutes, the search proceeded fruitlessly. Then, as suddenly as the first quake, an aftershock struck. As the floor shifted like the deck of a storm-tossed ship, Nat clung tightly to Batsheva, while Ocean clung equally tightly to a support column, refusing L. V.'s proffered arm. Margaret hurried towards her son, wanting to steady him, but he shied away from her and refused to be held. "The Witch is coming back," he whispered.

Just as the shaking slowed to a stop, a crash of thunder erupted from the sky, and rain began to pound against the roof and batter the windows, as if nature itself had been roused to fury by the prospect of the Witch's resurrection. The lights died, leaving the group in darkness. For a moment, they heard only the sounds of each others' breathing, and the patter of rain, and, despite the loss of power to the building, the whirr of the model train moving steadily around its track.

Margaret was the first to break the silence. "Mark? Are you okay?"

No reply. "Mark?"

Using their phones to light the way, the group gathered together in the middle of the foyer. The room seemed even more cavernous and huge in the dark, the screens of their phones making a little circle of light in the near-total darkness. "I'll get the emergency kit," said Lana. "Stay calm. He can't have gone far. Bill, try to get the generator going."

"Mark," said Margaret, "if this is a joke, cut it out!" Again, no reply. "He's okay," said Samuel, but his voice was not as reassuring as he'd hoped it would be. The other guests and staff checked in, one at a time, only to reveal another worrisome fact: L. V. and Ocean were gone. When Lana returned with flashlights, they had reached a decision.

"Samuel, Lana, Mr. Foreman, and I are going to look for Mark," said Margaret. "Everyone else stays here. Except Bill, you get the generator working... go together with Professor Rinaldi and Dr. Tressler. Nobody stays alone!"

"We'd still better find that ring, too, right? We've got a thief in our midst..." said Batsheva, a little tentatively. "And maybe we can wait out the storm. Swap riddles."

----

As the search party walked through the halls of the Club, Lana asked, "Can you think of any reason why he might have run away? Or why anybody would have taken him?"

"Don't know," said Margaret. Just then, as they passed the Computer Room, a figure ran towards them. They braced themselves for anything, but quickly saw that it was L. V., his sneakers flashing brightly in the dark corridor.

"Sorry, dudes," said L. V.. "I tried to catch him."

A few minutes after, they found Ocean leaning against a wall to catch her breath. "I saw L. V. run off," she said. "Thought he was trying to get away. With the stone."

"'s cool," said L. V., grinning. "I'm totally a glamorous jewel thief." In spite of the situation, this elicited a faint smile from Ocean.

With each explanation, Margaret grew more and more worried. If neither of them were with Mark, was he alone? But then, with a gasp of relief, she saw her son. "Mark! Where were you?"

Showing neither haste nor fear, Mark returned to his mother's side. "I was following the Witch," he said, quietly. He smiled at the group, and then looked straight into his mother's eyes. "The Witch is here. Gonna take us all away..."

A series of expressions crossed Margaret's face - fear, confusion, anger, and finally, resolve. "No, she's not," she said. "Because we're going home. You all can finish your contest... I refuse to let my son near any of you." She had a firm suspicion about the nature of Mark's 'Witch', and had no desire to see how her plans ended. Even as the boy resisted, she dragged him back to the foyer, leaving Ocean, Lana, and L.V. alone in the hallway.

As they started to walk back, L.V. couldn't resist the chance to make a snide comment. "Spooky," he said. "Maybe we'll bump into Mom on the way back." Ocean rolled her eyes, and before Lana could chide both of them for their flippancy, the librarian noticed something awry. They were passing the Study, which had a glass window in its door, and as she shone her flashlight through...

Dudeney was there, on the floor, motionless.

(

)

Hurriedly, she unlocked the door and opened it; there was no other way in, save that door. She knelt on the chilly tile floor, where Dudeney had fallen, and looked over the servant's remains. Perhaps the wound was not too severe...?

But on closer inspection, that would have been a truly optimistic assessment. The sight was ugly. Dudeney had been literally split wide open, innards exposed, bones broken. Lana jumped a little as Ocean spoke from behind her. "This is awful," she said. But even as she said that, Ocean's keen eye spotted something strange.

The ribbon that Dudeney normally wore was gone. It had been stolen.

The door had been locked when they found it, and had to be unlocked with a key.

The window in the door offered no entry and remained unbroken. No weapon passed through it.

There were no other doors or windows in the room.

No secret passages were used.

Upon their entry, the group saw no other person inside the room, and no other person tried to leave.

(End of Chapter 1: The Room of Six Locks)

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Kindly remain seated, honored guests. This thread is far from complete, for some riddles remain unsolved.

In order to unlock the Witch's Banquet and the next chapter, you must dispel these enchantments of the Witch.

Do not fret. Soon you will be provided with tools to seek the truth.

In the meantime, guess!Guess and guess again, and fail and fail again!

You shall not understand until you truly grasp the magic of the Witch!

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The guests at the table had already begun to probe this illusion, but the boy only rubbed his temples in quiet thought. Finally, he looked at the Witch, looked at Dudeney, and back at the Witch, questioningly. The Witch seemed to guess his thoughts. "If you wonder how Dudeney can be here ten years after that tragedy, you underestimate my magic. I resurrected my loyal servant!"

"Do you understand, boy?" asked Ms. Cox, testily. To one such as her, a narrator that was not "literally reliable" was no mere gimmick, but the very soul of existence.

But the Witch was far from offended and clapped delightedly. "I see my magic has confused you! Do you wish to see the undistorted truth from me? A truth without metaphors or exaggerations? Very well!"

The Red Truth tells only the truth.

This truth may be contextual. Were I telling a story about Sherlock Holmes, I could say in Red, "Dr. Watson was Holmes's partner." Were I discussing English history, I could say, "Sherlock Holmes never existed."

It occurred to the boy that he could challenge that first Red statement, but what good would that do? Either he accepted this rule, or they would be trapped in a stalemate. "Fine. Okay, I have an idea about the crime. It was - "

"Not so fast," said the Witch. "This is a game of Witch's Chess. If you wish to capture a Witch's piece, you must duel for it!" With a sound between a hiss and a buzz, a translucent red saber appeared in the Witch's left hand. The ghostly blade passed harmlessly through the table with the Witch's first swing:

The Red Truth will not physically harm you.

Then, slowly, delicately, a ghostly blue rose appeared on the boy's left shoulder and opened into bloom. Around the table, each guest found a similar blue rose in the same place. The Witch, in contrast, wore a red rose.

"Don't have a sword," said the boy, masking his wonder with sarcasm. "Must've left it at home."

"Focus your thoughts. Focus them into a guess, a hypothesis... a Blue Truth." Another swing at the air:

The Blue Truth represents a guess.

"Huh," said the boy. He stood up, as did the Witch. Both bowed. Then he focused, borrowing a theory he heard from the other guests, and a blade of blue materialized in his hand as he charged forward for the first strike!

(

)

The killer and ribbon thief had a key to the door; maybe this key was on the ribbon!

But the Witch deftly parried this expected Blue Truth with the Red, knocking the blade aside and cutting the rose from the boy's shoulder in a single move:

There were other keys to that room besides the one the librarian used, but none of them were involved in this mystery!

The room echoed with the reverberations of this clash of truth, and the boy looked down at his now-bare shoulder. "Wow," he said, "that didn't last long."

But in this game, the Human side could not lose unless they stopped thinking. "The rose will grow back," said the Witch, "after an ally makes an attack."

Rules:

Every guest may strike with the Blue Truth, including newcomers. New arrivals will be seated quickly, but are free to use Blue Truth in their first post.

Guests do not need to wait for confirmation of prior exchanges in order to strike. Thus, multiple guests may strike before the Witch has had a chance to reply.

However, the same guest may not strike twice until another guest has had a chance to attack. Of course, a Blue Truth theory may contain multiple ideas.

It is greatly preferable that Blue Truth be written in blue. If this is technically impossible, it may be denoted thus: (BLUE)The librarian visited the room earlier, stole Dudeney's ribbon, and killed him.(BLUE)

In addition, two guests from the same side of the table may not strike consecutively. If they do, all strikes but the first will be ignored.

The table as it is now:

"Come now," cried the Witch, cackling. "Rise from your places! Strike with the Blue Truth, if you dare! Every attack you make, I shall counter with the Red!"

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Guest

The group saw no other person inside the room; however, this is not equivalent to saying that there was no other person inside the room. My guess is that the killer went into the study, killed Dudeney, stole the ribbon, locked the door, and is currently in the study and well-hidden.

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guess]It said the window was unbroken, however it could have been opened by the killer and then closed again. If it was locked, maybe the killer had a key to the window, and unlocked it from the outside.

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I assume that means that a newcomer will automatically be seated on the opposite side to the side that most recently attacked.

Yes, that's right.)

The Blue Truth that SeaCalMaster forged was elegant and clean, a classic weapon to break open locked rooms. It would be almost wasteful to destroy it with a single Red Truth. Instead, the Witch parried and locked blades with him, Blue against Red, using a weapon borrowed from an admired predecessor.

"Who do you think this mysterious "hidden killer" is, then? Some person who hasn't even been mentioned yet, an 'Unknown Person X?' Hah!"

No Unknown Person X is involved here!

The Witch pushed SeaCalMaster away temporarily, but his Blue Truth blade remained intact, only partially parried by the Witch's answer, and his rose was still in place. Should he continue to pursue the possibility of a hidden culprit, or was this merely a feint of the Witch? But just as SeaCalMaster was pushed back, Morningstar struck. However, this attack, while sly, was parried with a single slash:

The window in the door could not open or close.

Each of these attacks seemed to eliminate some possibilities and draw out others, yet the Witch appeared entirely unshaken and absolutely confident. A little annoyed at this arrogance, the boy, whose rose had regrown, made a calculated swing at the Witch:

The killer was the librarian. She just pretended to be shocked when she came back, but she had the opportunity to use the key earlier.

Blades met with a clash, and the boy's rose was gone again:

The librarian is not a culprit here! That includes being a murderer or an accomplice!

(Since the boy has just made a move, either side of the table can now strike.)

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The Witch made a second slash at SeaCalMaster, just to make sure that the language was absolutely clear:

When it is stated that the group saw "no other person" in the room, and "no other person" tried to leave, it means that they saw no other person besides each other, and no other person tried to leave up until the point where we halted our story. Dudeney's mangled remains do not count as a person.

Edited 15 Jan 2012 by WitchOfDoubt

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I'm a bit confused about the "Witch" the boy keeps talking about. Your posts and image have the Sapphire Witch and the boy sitting together at the table yet the boy and some of the posts keep talking about the "Witch" like she's not there. "The Witch is going to take us away" ". . . at the prospect of the Witch's ressurection" or something like that. Are the "Witch" and the Sapphire Witch different people?

So to clarify:

Dudeney's death has nothing to do with windows, doors, or secret passages except possibly the door everyone came through

There are no other keys to the library that are relevant to Dudeney's death except possibly the librarian's key

The librarian is not involved in Dudeney's death

"The Pieces"

Ocean Zweidler

Louis Vuitton Ford-Seaton

Kenichi Nakamura

Otto Rinaldi

Alicia Tressler

Walter Sexton

Batsheva Ellis

Nat Viers Foreman

The staff

Lana Rodriguez, the Club librarian

Bill Jackson, the club's resident tech wizard.

Samuel, the doorman

Margaret Ye, the proprietor’s attorney

Maria Brand and Sal Lucas- the security guards

Others

The Witch

The boy

Cox and Rathvon, animates

Dudeney, animate

The club owner

Who are the other two staff members you mentioned earlier? Am I missing anyone else?

How do you define animate? I'm not quite clear about what exactly they are. Are they human? Alive or machines? Created by the Witch?

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Thalia's move came from an unexpected direction. While the Witch was not required to reply to anything but Blue Truth, the questions raised touched deeply on the heart of this mystery. It would have not befitted the dignity of the Witch to let them go unanswered. If you are still confused by this narration, it would be wise to read what follows.

I'm a bit confused about the "Witch" the boy keeps talking about. Your posts and image have the Sapphire Witch and the boy sitting together at the table yet the boy and some of the posts keep talking about the "Witch" like she's not there. "The Witch is going to take us away" ". . . at the prospect of the Witch's ressurection" or something like that.

(These are absolutely excellent questions. I struggled with how ambiguous to be, but I suggest that you take nothing you read at face value, except perhaps the Red Truth.)

"This is a story of stories and a mystery of mysteries.

There are at least two levels to this story. This boy and I are debating the events of December 31, 2011 here and now, ten years later, with all of you invited as guests. However, I have also shown you pages describing the events of December 31, 2011... with certain 'modifications.' On those pages, at this moment, most believe the Witch is dead and gone. However, here at this table, I am alive.

How can this be? Perhaps you will find out."

Are the "Witch" and the Sapphire Witch different people?

"The Sapphire Witch is also known, more simply, as the Witch."

The boy at the head of the table furrowed his brow. Was it his imagination, or did the Witch - the Sapphire Witch - deflect that question? Was there something to hide there?

So to clarify:

Dudeney's death has nothing to do with windows, doors, or secret passages except possibly the door everyone came through

There are no other keys to the library that are relevant to Dudeney's death except possibly the librarian's key

The librarian is not involved in Dudeney's death

"The Red Truth is true."

It was then that a voice was heard from somewhere in the shadows, far from the table. It was the voice of a woman who had been watching this gathering for some time, waiting patiently to put a finger on the scale. She said, "If you want to confirm something in the narration, why don't you challenge the Witch to repeat it in Red? If the Witch is just making it all up..."

The Witch bristled in anger. Why did this interloper insist on meddling with the duel? "No challenge is needed from you," said the Witch, "I'll repeat Thalia's list in Red myself."

"Go on," said the voice, laughing cruelly. "Repeat it in Red!"

"Exactly eight people are represented by the guests at the Club. These so-called "pieces" are given these aliases:

Ocean Zweidler

Louis Vuitton Ford-Seaton

Kenichi Nakamura

Otto Rinaldi

Alicia Tressler

Walter Sexton

Batsheva Ellis

Nat Viers Foreman

Exactly eight people are represented by the staff of the Club. Their identities do not overlap with the list above in any way, and are given these alisases:

Lana Rodriguez, librarian

Bill Jackson, the club's resident tech wizard.

Samuel, the doorman

Margaret Ye, the proprietor’s attorney

Maria Brand, security guard

Sal Lucas, security guard

and the other two:

Jaime LaSalle, chef

Celia Marquez, occupation not yet given, but appears to work with the chef

In addition, (alias) Margaret Ye's son, (alias) Mark Ye, was present on the evening of December 31, 2011. Another person, who is not important for this locked room riddle, was present.

As promised in the Red Truth about 'Unknown Person X', a person not yet named cannot be involved in this locked-room mystery.

How do you define animate? I'm not quite clear about what exactly they are. Are they human? Alive or machines? Created by the Witch?

(The Witch will never fully confirm or deny the nature of Animates in Red. But if you truly have hope that this is a fair and solvable riddle, all Animates must be explicable in non-supernatural terms.")

The Witch grinned. "Animates, hmm? You learned of my first animate here:

What is an Animate? An Animate is a living magic, a creature that I create from a 'vessel' in order to serve my needs. If you have any skeptical objections to such a claim, feel free to test them with the Blue Truth!"

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(The most obvious one is the locked room riddle. It's probably best to focus on that! Blue Truth is the way forward here; I don't expect people to simply solve it without several exchanges of Red and Blue Truth, though it's possible to solve it in one swipe.

Another is... well, seeing that something remains unsolved there is part of the riddle, so I can't give it away. Figuring out what hasn't been done yet is part of this game. If the locked room is solved, clues will be given.

I recommend starting by taking guesses at the locked room puzzle, but if you really want to search for other unsolved stuff - and it definitely is out there! - the best hint I can give is that finding the location of the Epigraph is NOT a riddle you are meant to solve right now.)

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As they started to walk back, L.V. couldn't resist the chance to make a snide comment. "Spooky," he said. "Maybe we'll bump into Mom on the way back." Ocean rolled her eyes, and before Lana could chide both of them for their flippancy, the librarian noticed something awry. They were passing the Study, which had a glass window in its door, and as she shone her flashlight through...

Dudeney was there, on the floor, motionless.

Hurriedly, she unlocked the door and opened it; there was no other way in, save that door. She knelt on the chilly tile floor, where Dudeney had fallen, and looked over the servant's remains. Perhaps the wound was not too severe...?

But on closer inspection, that would have been a truly optimistic assessment. The sight was ugly. Dudeney had been literally split wide open, innards exposed, bones broken. Lana jumped a little as Ocean spoke from behind her. "This is awful," she said. But even as she said that, Ocean's keen eye spotted something strange.

The ribbon that Dudeney normally wore was gone. It had been stolen.

I'm wondering if we're assuming some things that we shouldn't. We seem to be assuming that Dudeney was killed by a guest/staff member and that the ribbon was stolen after being killed. Dudeney was not killed by one of the guests or the staff. His death is partially related to being an animate.

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This Human had turned the board around entirely. Instead of focusing on locks, rooms, or a killer, Thalia was focusing upon the innocent victim. Was this the way to defeat a Witch? The Blue Truth scythed through the air with a whirr, and the Witch only narrowly managed to turn it aside with a wild flurry of swipes and parries, losing a several petals off the red rose in the process:

Dudeney was not killed by one of the guests or the staff. His death is partially related to being an animate.

A wild slash! "Are you admitting that my magical servant is truly magical? To admit the existence of supernatural creatures is a poor solution to a mystery! You can make up any solution with supernatural creatures! If you wish to admit to the existence of Animates, become a Witch!

A desperate parry! "Sphinx's First! Sphinx's Second! A riddle must contain the information needed to solve it, and cannot require specialized knowledge! Where in these pages could you possibly have learned of Dudeney's traits as an Animate?"

Finally, a parry that could contradict one of Thalia's statements occurred to the Sapphire Witch. Maintaining a defensive posture, the Witch glanced over at Dudeney, as if to ask, "Should I make such a dishonorable move?" And in the end, the Witch decided not to.

Thus, they were doubly shocked at the emergence of their observer, the same one who had needled the Sapphire Witch into repeating Thalia's lists in Red. It was the Witch of Secrets, who smiled blandly as she approached. If the Sapphire Witch had been born in imitation of one who knew both kindness and cruelty, the Witch of Secrets drew from a different source altogether.

"Stop embarrassing yourself. This is how you deal with humans." The Witch of Secrets snapped her fingers, and time stopped. She snapped again, and time stepped backwards in obedience. As Thalia's Blue Truth came down, the Witch of Secrets struck back with a red scythe blade.

Dudeney was not killed by one of the guests or the staff. His death is partially related to being an animate.

Dudeney was not killed for reasons related to being an Animate.

Even if Thalia had a riposte in mind, there was no time to form it before the scythe struck the rose off her shoulder. As if in afterthought, the Witch of Secrets turned to SeaCalMaster and contemptuously swiped off his rose as well:

"No human being hid in that room. However, a demon did. Obviously, Dudeney was slain by a demon."

Then, satisfied with her interference, the Witch of Secrets bowed, turned to the Sapphire Witch, and brightly remarked, "If you step out of line, I'll make you suffer." Then she vanished, leaving the threat - no, the confirmed fact -hanging in the air.

Ms. Cox was the first to find her voice. "Was that move against Thalia even legal?!"

The Sapphire Witch sighed. "Technically, yes. I apologize for the disturbance. Please, let us continue to a resolution, whatever that may be." Even if the red rose had lost a few petals, it was still largely intact.

---

(Both Thalia and SeaCalMaster have temporarily lost their roses; somebody else must move first.)

"Annabel, please," said Dudeney, "don't trouble yourself over this."

"Right!" said Ms. Cox. "I bet that Witch of Secrets is just a cheap imitation of an Umineko character!"

"Er," said Rathvon, looking first at the butler, and then at the Sapphire Witch, "Sis, this is not a conversation we want to start. And it's called a homage. Hey, what about our Human side characters? They're pretty original!"